bad news

Any unfortunate or regrettable situation or event: That meeting was strictly bad news(1930s+)

An ominous person; a menace: Their big new linebacker is bad news(1960s+)

An unpleasant or depressing person, esp a persistently annoying one: Isn't she bad news since her old man left her?

[1970s+; all senses extended from the literal]

The Dictionary of American Slang, Fourth Edition by Barbara Ann Kipfer, PhD. and Robert L. Chapman, Ph.D.Copyright (C) 2007 by HarperCollins Publishers.Cite This Source

Idioms and Phrases with bad news

bad news

1.

An unwelcome thing or person, trouble. For example, That fire was bad news; we were underinsured for the damage, or No one wants Mary on the board—she's bad news. This term transfers literal bad news—the report of an unhappy recent event—to an unwanted or undesirable individual or circumstance.
[ ; 1920s
]

2.

The amount charged for something, as in Waiter, bring our check—I want to see the bad news.
[ ; 1920s
]